Bowman and Brooke Opens Ninth Office in Austin

MINNEAPOLIS and AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Bowman and Brooke LLP, a nationally recognized trial firm known for defending household-name corporations in high-exposure product liability cases, today announced a new office in Austin, Texas.

The Austin office will officially open on February 15. It is Bowman and Brooke's second new Texas office in just one month as the firm – recently named Law360's product liability group of the year – launched a Dallas office on February 1.

Joining Bowman and Brooke this week from Clark, Thomas & Winters LLP are partners Mary R. Pawelek, Randall L. Christian, David Lill, Cedric E. Evans, Kelly R. Kimbrough, Mark W. Farris, Susan E. Burnett and David J. Duke.   In addition, Gary Davis, of Rodriguez Davis Ghoryeb Gersch and Towns LLC, will join the firm's partnership, bringing additional product liability and commercial litigation experience for the automotive, aviation and utility industries.

These attorneys have extensively represented the pharmaceutical and medical device industry in product liability cases with significant experience in mass tort litigation involving complex legal and scientific issues.

"The addition of these extraordinary lawyers comes at an important time for Bowman and Brooke, as our pharmaceutical and medical device litigation practice continues to grow dynamically, along with our signature vehicle product liability work," said David Graves, Jr., Bowman and Brooke's Firm Chairman.

"It is an extraordinary opportunity for us to combine our national pharmaceutical practice with this nationally prominent law firm – and great news for our clients as we can provide them with enhanced resources and services," said Mary Pawelek.

"While we will miss our long association with our colleagues and friends at Clark, Thomas & Winters, we are excited about this opportunity to substantially increase both the breadth and depth of our work in the pharmaceuticals and medical devices industries," added Randall Christian.

Gary Davis added, "I have worked with Bowman and Brooke lawyers for a number of years and we fully expect a transition that will ensure seamless service for all our clients."  

In addition to Austin and Dallas, Bowman and Brooke has offices in Minneapolis, Phoenix, Detroit, San Jose, Los Angeles, Richmond, and Columbia, South Carolina. The firm has been recognized numerous times as a blue-chip product liability firm and was recently named to The National Law Journal's 2010 Midsize Hotlist for its work in high-exposure product liability and commercial cases.

The lawyers joining Bowman and Brooke's new Austin office include:

Mary R. Pawelek

Ms. Pawelek has 17 years experience in product liability litigation and primarily focuses her practice on defending pharmaceutical manufacturers.  She has extensive experience in the administration and organization of mass tort litigation, particularly in developing corporate defense strategies and the evaluation of complex medical, legal, and scientific matters.  Ms. Pawelek has resolved numerous pharmaceutical cases by dispositive pre-trial motions and has successfully negotiated non-suits.  She has defended pharmaceutical company witnesses in the areas of drug safety, regulatory, medical/scientific affairs and marketing, including many sales representatives.  Ms. Pawelek currently serves as national coordinating counsel on corporate liability and scientific issues in nationwide pharmaceutical mass tort litigation.  In 2005 and 2006, Ms. Pawelek was named a "Texas Rising Star" by Texas Super Lawyers and Texas Monthly.  She earned her Juris Doctor with honors along with her Bachelor's of Arts with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin.

Randall L. Christian

An accomplished trial attorney, Mr. Christian has significant experience in pharmaceutical mass tort product liability. He has served as trial counsel in numerous pharmaceutical product liability cases across the country including Arkansas, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Mississippi. Most recently, Mr. Christian has focused his practice on the recruitment and development of testifying expert witnesses in national pharmaceutical product liability litigation. In 2004 and 2005, Mr. Christian was named a "Texas Rising Star" by Texas Super Lawyers and Texas Monthly for his civil litigation work. He earned his Juris Doctor from Baylor Law School in 1992 and received his Bachelor of Arts with honors from Texas Tech University.  

Gary Davis

As lead counsel, Mr. Davis has tried many cases in state and federal court for both product manufacturers and commercial clients in and out of Texas. He serves as regional or national counsel for a number of automotive, aviation, component and equipment manufacturers, as well as several utility companies.  While the majority of his practice focuses on product liability defense, Mr. Davis has handled cases including breach of fiduciary duty, shareholder disputes and patent claims.  A member of the International Association of Defense Counsel, Mr. Davis is a graduate of The University of Texas School of Law, with honors and earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kansas with highest distinction.

David Lill

With more than 22 years of jury trial experience, Mr. Lill has handled a wide range of complex litigation, in courts in Texas and throughout the United States. Mr. Lill focuses his practice on the representation of pharmaceutical, medical device, and product manufacturers in product liability suits involving personal and economic injury – including catastrophic injury and wrongful death lawsuits.  In addition to product liability matters, Mr. Lill has handled a wide variety of cases involving commercial disputes, personal injury, and toxic torts.  He received his Juris Doctor and his Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University, where he was the Managing Editor of the Baylor Law Review.  Prior to attending law school, he served as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

Cedric E. Evans

Mr. Evans' practice focuses on the defense of pharmaceutical and medical device clients, where he handles claims involving prescription weight loss medications, antidepressants, immunosuppressive medications, pain medications and drug-eluting heart stents. In addition, Mr. Evans also has significant experience handling product liability matters for automobile, tire, and home appliance manufacturers as well toxic torts, nursing home personal injuries, manufactured home defects, and contract disputes. In 2004-2006, Mr. Evans was named a "Texas Rising Star" by Texas Super Lawyers and Texas Monthly. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law, and received his Bachelor of Arts from The University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Evans also served as an Officer in the United States Army from 1987-1997.

Kelly R. Kimbrough

Ms. Kimbrough has more than 15 years of experience in product liability litigation, with a special concentration on the defense of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers. She has a rich background in complex product liability litigation in both individual and mass tort cases, and has represented defendants at the national and regional counsel level. In addition, Ms. Kimbrough has served on national expert witness development committees in two pharmaceutical mass tort litigations. She was named a "Texas Super Lawyer" in 2006 and is an active member of the Defense Research Institute (DRI). Ms. Kimbrough earned her Juris Doctor from The University of Texas School of Law, and received her Bachelor of Business Administration from Southwestern University in 1988.

Mark W. Farris

Mr. Farris is a trial attorney, whose practice involves litigating a wide variety of lawsuits, including: product liability and personal injury, commercial disputes, toxic torts, premises liability, construction defects, electric and gas utility liability, and more.  While Mr. Farris' product liability practice currently focuses on the defense of pharmaceutical clients, he has extensive product liability litigation experience involving automobiles and commercial vehicles.  Mr. Farris was named a "Texas Rising Star" by Texas Super Lawyers and Texas Monthly. Mr. Farris earned his Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University.

Susan E. Burnett

Ms. Burnett focuses her practice on product liability litigation, with a strong concentration on pharmaceutical and defense and mass torts. In over 20 years of practice, she has had extensive experience with motion practice and appellate work, and has obtained summary judgments, opposed class certification, presented Daubert challenges, and opposed remand in numerous cases. Ms. Burnett earned her Juris Doctor, with high honors, from The University of Texas School of Law, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif. She also attended The University of Texas at Austin as an undergraduate, where she received her Bachelor of Arts, with honors.

David J. Duke

Mr. Duke has more than 15 years experience defending companies in product liability and mass tort litigation, involving pharmaceuticals and medical devices. He has represented clients in the defense of the Norplant contraceptive, silicone breast implants, fen-phen diet drugs, and hormone therapy medication. In addition, Mr. Duke also has significant experience in the defense of asbestos products manufacturers, asbestos premises owners, and aerial lift device manufacturers. He has directed and participated in the defense of hundreds of cases in state and federal court in Texas as well as a number of other states. Mr. Duke received his Juris Doctor and his Bachelor of Arts from The University of Texas at Austin.

About Bowman and Brooke

Bowman and Brooke LLP is a nationally recognized trial firm with one of the largest product liability practices in the country. The firm's 185 attorneys defend a variety of corporate clients, including many Fortune 500 and internationally-based companies, in widely publicized catastrophic injury and wrongful death matters, and in other complex litigation throughout all 50 states. Bowman and Brooke's lawyers regularly represent their clients and try cases in courthouses across the United States.

Complementing our national product liability defense practice, Bowman and Brooke provides well-established litigation practice groups in commercial, intellectual property, environmental, construction, consumer warranty and healthcare litigation. The firm has offices in Minneapolis, Phoenix, Detroit, San Jose, Los Angeles, Richmond, Columbia, Dallas and Austin. www.bowmanandbrooke.com.

SOURCE Bowman and Brooke LLP